Lot 311 German Democratic Republic #187-204 1953-1954 Second 5 Year Plan Definitive Issue, Specialized CTO and Used Lot of Originals and Reprints, Horizontal and Vertical Wove Papers, Some Fluorescent

A Specialized lot of 68 stamps, most being cancelled to order, as noted in Scott, but with 15 stamps having genuine postal cancellations. This set differs from lot 307 in that the stamps are not printed by half-tone lithography, but lithography with lines. The names of the designers has also been added at the foot of most values. This set was printed on both horizontal and vertical wove papers, as well as fluorescent and non-fluorescent papers. The lot begins with the original printings on non-fluorescent horizontal and vertical wove papers and includes 5 values on horizontal wove and 10 on vertical wove, many of which have the attached corner selvedge. These stamps all have genuine postal cancellations. Then, it continues with the first reprints on non-fluorescent paper, again both horizontal and vertical wove. These stamps all have printed cancellations, and once you become familiar with what they look like you can spot them easily, because they always look the same. For these reprints, the shades are also different from the originals. For the vertical wove papers there are papers showing clear vertical mesh and others that show none at all. In this lot there are 11 reprints on horizontal wove, and 35 on vertical wove, with some slight differences in shade or reaction under UV light. Then finally, there are the subsequent reprints on papers of varying fluorescence, from low fluorescent to high fluorescent, again on both horizontal and vertical wove papers. These, again have all printed cancellations, and there are 3 stamps on horizontal wove and 4 on vertical wove.
The Scott price of 25c per stamp is for the reprints, which are plentiful. The originals are much scarcer, but are not priced used. However, if you look at stamps of this period for other issues there isn’t a significant difference in price between mint and used. So, I would estimate that the originals are worth at least $1 per stamp. So, my estimate for this lot is $25. It is a fascinating series to collect, as there are two or three more sets, all with design differences and their own watermark and paper changes, as well as original and reprints.